Susie & Jeff's Story: Finding Love and a Ready-Made Family
How did I meet Jeff
A busy entrepreneur who found that running her own business left little energy for dating, Susie decided to shake things up with Smart Dating Academy — and it led her straight to Jeff. In her own words: "We met on Match. I was on Match because Bela told me it's the largest site and likely to have the most 'inventory.' Jeff was one of my Matches of the Day. I knew it was best to write a note instead of just clicking the heart button, but sometimes it's hard to find an opening."
"Lucky for me, in his profile, Jeff listed one of his recently read books as Ready Player One, which I'd recently read and loved for my book group. So I sent him a one-sentence note: 'So, how'd you like Ready Player One?' The rest is history."
It’s been easy since the beginning, just the way it’s supposed to be.
"It's been easy since the beginning, just the way it's supposed to be. Even on our first date, when I accidentally had him meet me at a coffee shop that was closed for Labor Day — we walked through my neighborhood on a beautiful September day to find one that was open. I especially loved that he asked me questions. It seemed like men my age tended to just want to talk about themselves."
A little bit about me
"I was married young and divorced after three years. After my divorce, I hit the reset button and moved to Chicago for business school. Fast forward through plenty of great guys and long-term relationships to four years ago — I was running my own business and found that dating was even harder when you're doing business development all day."
"While I always thought I'd get remarried and have my own children, sometimes life requires a Plan B. Mine was, 'If I can't be a mom, I'm going to be a grandma' — which to me meant being in a relationship with a man who already had children. Happily for me, Jeff has two. I decided to work with a dating coach because I wanted to shake things up and try something different. The most valuable things from the experience, besides the fabulous photos, were the insights into how I was showing up on dates and how to telegraph my softer, sillier side up front."